Page 100 of Rookie Days

“Nice,” Janet purred. “Very nice…”

“You’re so hot.”

“Indeed. It has been said before.”

“I mean, seriously. Are you okay?”

“Of course. And I was serious.”

Janet fixed her with a mix of irritated and sheepish look on her face. Puzzled, Ellie insisted.

“Is something wrong? The crash—”

“Nope,” Janet groaned. “Nothing to do with it. My body’s just having a stupid hot flush. There. Not very sexy, uh? Sorry about that. Don’t laugh, okay?”

Ellie pulled away slightly to allow her to push the blanket off herself. Her lover sounded both annoyed and embarrassed. Ellie saw no reason to laugh, but she had to smile.

“Dr Fox, you are sexy no matter what.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Especially when you talk about this stuff, hormones and hot flushes.”

“You’re weird, Detective.” Janet tried to frown but she was laughing, and she pulled her back in her arms. “Well. So long as you don’t mind me being hot like this...”

“Not only do I not mind, but I relish it.”

“Why?”

“It’s quintessentially female. Just like you are. I don’t know. You’re the most beautiful and sexiest woman I’ve ever met, Jan. Deal with it.”

“Okay.” Janet paused, smiling. Then, in a much softer tone, she added. “You saved my life today, Ellie. You brought a killer to a stop, and justice to the victims. Your sister would be proud. Laura can rest easy now.”

“Mm. Yes.”

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut against fast rising tears. She could not have explained how, but she was convinced that her sister had been with her during the final confrontation with Hayes. She had felt her presence incredibly strongly. Laura had been by her side.

“I was too young to save her then,” she reflected. “But with every predator that we get off the streets now, I feel a bit more peace goes her way.”

“Absolutely. It’s okay to cry, baby. It’s okay to do it with me.”

Safe in her embrace, Ellie gave herself permission to finally let go. She welcomed the tears, allowed herself to shed emotionsshe no longer needed. A tremendous sense of peace and well-being followed.

“You know, Quinn gave me some time off. Two weeks.”

“Great. No panic at the thought of a vacation?”

“No panic,” Ellie chuckled.

“Good for you, Detective. And you know, I am due some vacation time as well.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah.” Janet kissed her long, nice and deep. “Vieni con me in Italia?”

There was no need for Google translate on this one, and Ellie experienced her own version of a hot flush. It was love, joy, and excitement all into one. She returned the kiss, nice and hard, and flashed a happy grin as her lover laughed.

“Si, Dr Fox.”